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Is An Old Home for You? - The Cons
So you think you might like to buy an old home? Perhaps even something old enough to be historic? It's a good idea to carefully evaluate the pros and cons before you decide. There are plenty of both. Will the pros be valuable enough for you to be willing to cope with the cons? Where shall we start? With a cautionary tale, I think. The Cons of An Old Home In 1972, my husband and I bought a house built in about 1825. We moved in on August 15th. My husband had an out of town business meeting and left about 5 AM the next day. (What makes him so smart?) About an hour later, I started downstairs and flipped the switch to turn on the chandelier in the downstairs hall. Boy did I get light. There was a flash, and then what looked like lightening ran up the cord. I turned the switch off, but the fireworks continued. I ran and yelled for our sons (10 and 11 years old at the time). We got out a door off another hall and ran to our next door neighbor's house to call the fire department. (This is a very exciting way to meet one's new neighbors.) The fire department was really fast and got to our home before we got back ourselves. By the time my husband returned late that evening, we had been visited by not just the fire department, but also an electrician (old wiring needed to be reworked and a fuse box replaced with circuit breakers), a painter (to get a price on fixing water and fire damage), and a floor refinisher (same reason as the painter), and both our sons had been offered marijuana. (Did I mention that beautiful old houses are often located in intercity areas and sometimes the whole neighborhood has not yet been completely restored to its original state of gentility?) We were asking ourselves, "What have we done?" Well, we had the wiring fixed, put off having the floors worked on and did the painting ourselves. We also paid tuition and fees to keep the boys in their old school district. You have to be flexible to happily live in an old house. Nothing is a standard size. Right angles are purely coincidental. (The water damage mentioned above had showed us that the floor on the outside edge of the front hall is about six inches higher than floor on the far side of the living room.) Go to Lowes or Home Depot to buy a standard replacement this or that? Forget it. You're probably going to have to fabricate it yourself or have it done. You need to either have a large home maintenance budget, be prepared to invest a lot of "sweat equity" or both. We've lived in this same old house for over thirty years now. Items we've had adventures with include: 1. Plumbing, 2. Bringing in more electricity, 3. Replacing the heating system, 4. Repointing the chimneys, 5. Having dampers made for the chimneys so heat doesn't escape from them when they're not in use (did I mention we have four working fireplaces?), 6. Increasing the insulation, and 7. Painting many, many times. Our house is real wood, not vinyl, and the roof is standing seam tin - the original roof. That, of course, means there is a lot of surface to paint, and, since the house is two stories and has high ceilings, some of the surfaces are pretty high. (Did I mention that my husband has fallen off the roof twice?) We're in the process of having our home painted (not a do it yourself project this time) yet again. The bids we got ranged from $15,000 to $20,000. (Did I mention you need a larger maintenance budget with an old house?) Whew! I think the cons are clear, don't you? Owning an old home is wonderful. Just make sure you understand what you are getting into. Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, "FSBO", properties. Are you thinking, "Should I sell my home?" Visit http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.
MORE RESOURCES: Boathouses Go Next Level at These Five Mansions Mansion Global The long road to recovery for LA’s property market The Real Deal Homes for Sale in New York and New Jersey The New York Times Erie County real estate transactions Buffalo News Downtown Knoxville IRS offices included on list of possible federal real estate spending cuts WBIR.com The Great American Insurance Retreat: Climate Change, Uninsurable Homes, & The Future Of Real Estate CleanTechnica REAL ESTATE | VIDEO | Perfect country property in Dodge County | By Wendy Wendorf - Homestead Realty washingtoncountyinsider.com Trade Alert: Independent Director Of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Carmencita N. Whonder Has Sold Stock Simply Wall St Central Mass. real estate transfers, Sunday, March 9 Worcester Telegram Macomb County real estate transfers recorded Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2024 The Macomb Daily An investor's 3-part 'build-to-rent' strategy is making him $330 a month per unit. 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(sponsored) Brooklyn Bridge Parents Exclusive | Blackstone Raises Largest Commercial Property Debt Fund With $8 Billion Haul The Wall Street Journal Berkshire region real estate sales – March 7, 2025 theberkshireedge.com Trouble Signs For Real Estate Market In Palm Beach County BocaNewsNow.com America Builds: Making Federal Real Estate Work for the Taxpayer The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The Michael Houck Real Estate Guide for March 9 Oil City News Sonoma County real estate market turns turbulent, though 7 areas show improved year-to-year sales prices The Santa Rosa Press Democrat Godfrey - Home for sale RiverBender.com China’s real estate market keeps stabilizing as government policy support boosts confidence: Minister Global Times ‘They just gutted it’: Latest Trump job cuts in Oregon hit agency managing real estate OregonLive OT Real Estate Spotlight of the Week: 5457 Ridge Pointe Court The Owensboro Times DOGE claims $17 million saved in federal real estate terminations in Georgia. Here's where Online Athens Charming Southern metro nicknamed the 'Scenic City' sees housing boom in state with NO income tax Daily Mail Pushback in eXp, Weichert settlements called ‘self-serving’ Real Estate News Suburban cities, developers eye office space but high-rise downtowns outside Austin still years away The Business Journals This CT metro area has the 'hottest' real estate market in U.S., according to realtor website CT Insider Inside Saratoga's largest mansion, now listed for $24.9M The Business Journals Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 479 Shares of Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF (NYSEARCA:FREL) Defense World Real estate stocks down with import of timber, lumber, derivative products under scrutiny Seeking Alpha National Bankshares Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Bsr Real Estate Investment Trust (TSE:HOM.U) Stock Defense World Healthcare Commercial Real Estate Finance Veteran Amy Heller Joins Meridian Capital Group Business Wire DOGE cuts 13 real estate contracts, federal offices in Mississippi. Where are they? - Clarion Ledger Real Estate Stocks To Keep An Eye On – March 7th Defense World RNR Real Estate Briefs – Texas & more Realty News Report $1.3 million Dover townhome tops Strafford County market. Here's lowest-priced home, too. Foster's Daily Democrat Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI) vs. Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) Head to Head Survey Defense World Chetrit family faces a reckoning after decades of success in NY real estate Crain's New York Business UW and NFL great Lawyer Milloy lists Woodinville estate for $7.8 million seattlerefined.com Horseshoe Bay: Crescent breaks ground on housing community overlooking LBJ Virtual Builders Exchange Red Bank's Denholtz has created a $2B real estate empire; now they want to get bigger Asbury Park Press Real Estate Newsletter Articles this Week: Property Insurance Costs Rose at a Record Rate in 2024 Calculated Risk Chattanooga housing market heats up in Tennessee Fox Business What were the 5 most expensive homes sold in Petaluma last week? The Santa Rosa Press Democrat County Official Sees Growing Strength in Real Estate Franklin Observer ‘Extremely pissed off’: LeFever Mattson investors wonder why troubled real estate moguls have escaped accountability The Santa Rosa Press Democrat Is a 6.5% Mortgage Rate the 'Magic Number' to Turn the Local Real Estate Market Around This Spring? TAPinto.net A couple making $28,000 a year in passive income from real estate used an out-of-the-box approach to buy their first rental Business Insider Raymond James Has Lowered Expectations for Minto Apartment Real Estate Invt Trust (TSE:MI.UN) Stock Price Defense World REAL ESTATE | 92+ acres of farmland in Rubicon, Wi | By Jim Emmer – Emmer Real Estate washingtoncountyinsider.com National Bankshares Has Lowered Expectations for Minto Apartment Real Estate Invt Trust (TSE:MI.UN) Stock Price Defense World Here are recent property transfers up to $1.4 million St. Albans Messenger Gambling on Las Vegas? Sin City Housing Market Softens as It Suffers Affordability Crisis Realtor.com News Elevate Your Real Estate Experience: Insider Tips Cape Cod Daily News |
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